PHIL 120: PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY: Philosophy and Violence

Earlham College, Fall Semester 2009-2010
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 11:00-11:50, Carpenter 322
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 328
Office Hours: By appointment
Office Phone: 983-1399 (voice mail)
e-mail: guvenfe@earlham.edu
web page: http://www.earlham.edu/~guvenfe/

Course Description: The aim of this course is to introduce you to philosophy. The common theme of the course is violence. We will investigate the notion of violence in its social, political and economic contexts, in terms of subjective violence, institutional violence and systemic violence. We will also raise conceptual questions concerning different manifestations of violence, in terms of its relationship to justice and peace as well as to language in general and to philosophical language in particular.

Required Texts: (available in the Earlham College bookstore)
Plato, Republic, trans. G.M.A Grube, (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992)
Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1981)
Hannah Arendt, On Violence, (New York: Hartcourt, 1969)

In addition to these texts, there will be reading material placed on Moodle. This material is also required reading for the course, and you are expected to photocopy it. These are:
Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto.
Frantz Fanon, “Concerning Violence” and “Violence in the International Context” from The Wretched of the Earth.
Slavoj Zizek, Violence.
Walter Benjamin, "Critique of Violence."
Malcolm X, "The Second Rally of the OAAU" (July 5, 1964; NYC) from By Any Means Necessary, "At the Audubon" (Dec 13, 1964; NYC) from Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements.

Course Requirement and Evaluation:
You are expected to write three 5-6 page papers: I will provide paper topics for each assignment. Your papers must be double-spaced and typed in 12 point font (There should be approximately 250-300 words per page). In order to be fair to students who pass in their papers on time, late papers will be graded down one notch (e.g. B to B-) for each day late (including weekends). You are responsible for making copies of your essays.

Since you will be writing your papers on the texts we read in this course, there is no need to do additional research beyond these texts, that is, you do not need to use secondary sources. Plagiarism, [i.e., copying or paraphrasing the ideas and language of others (without acknowledging the source) from a book, from an article, from the Internet, etc., and thus implicitly presenting them as one's own] will not be tolerated. You will receive an F for that assignment, and may be subject to academic disciplinary action. For further clarifications on plagiarism, read The Student Handbook under "Procedures and Penalties for Academic Violations." Plagiarism can be deliberate or accidental. It is your responsibility to know what plagiarism is and avoid it. If you are not clear about plagiarism you should discuss it with me.

For each week, two students will work together in order to prepare a two paged (single-spaced) protocol of the material discussed during the previous week. A protocol is a carefully edited summary of the previous class sessions written in full sentences. Protocols will be photocopied by the student who wrote it and handed out to all students at the beginning of each Monday to be read aloud, and will serve as a cumulative record of the course. The students who prepare the protocol should come to class a couple of minutes early, so that the protocols will have been distributed at the beginning of the class (i.e., at 11:00). In addition to reviewing the material covered in the previous class, the protocol should include questions raised in class, and future questions for the material to come. The best protocols will be those that do not simply reproduce word for word everything that was said during class, but those that rearrange the material thematically, editing out what was unimportant, and emphasizing what was significant. The point of this is not only to get you to work together, but also to allow you to think during class, and not just take notes; because someone will be taking notes for you, you can concentrate on the ideas being presented, and participate without having to write frantically. Also you will have a summary of every class which will help you with writing papers and studying for quizzes.

There will be announced or unannounced quizzes either at the beginning or at the end of the sessions. There will be no make-ups for the quizzes.
There will be no final examination!
Your grade will be calculated according to the following distribution: Paper I: 20%, Paper II: 20%, Paper III: 20%, Protocol: 15%, Quizzes: 15%, Class Participation and Attendance: 10%.

Participation and Attendance:
Even though participation counts for only 10% of your grade, it may still mean a lot if you are between two grades, e.g., A and A-. However, I expect you to participate not simply for the sake of your grade, but hopefully because you will be interested in what will be discussed in class. The success of this course depends on your contribution. You need to come to class prepared (having read the assigned readings, and ready to answer questions) and ready to participate in the discussions.

There are few official rules in this course. These are:
If you miss more than three classes you will lose 10% of your grade (i.e., your entire attendance grade).
If you miss more than six classes you will fail this course regardless of your grade.
You must bring your book to every class.
Our sessions will start at 11:00 am. Students are expected to come on time. Walking into (and out of) the classroom while the session is in progress is very disruptive for everybody. For every two late attendance (or early exit) you will be marked as absent for one class session.

Any student with a documented disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the instructor and Disability Services Office (Academic Support Services) at the beginning of the semester. Accommodation arrangements must be made during the first-two weeks of the semester.

Calendar:
There may be some modifications to this calendar. It is your responsibility to be aware of these changes. These changes will be announced in class. If you miss a class you should make sure that you are informed about the assignments for the next session.

Week 1:
August 26: Introduction
August 28: Plato, Republic, Book 1

Week 2:
Augsut 31: Republic, Book 2
September 2: Plato, Republic, Book 3
September 4: Plato, Republic, Book 4

Week 3:
September 7: Plato, Republic, Book 5
September 19: Plato, Republic, Book 6
September 11: Plato, Republic, Book 7

Week 4:
September 14: Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Preface and First Section
September 16: Kant, Grounding, First Section
September 18: Kant, Grounding, First and Second Sections

Week 5:
September 21: Kant, Grounding, Second Section
September 23: Kant, Grounding, Second Section
September 25: Kant, Grounding, Second and Third Sections

Week 6:
September 28: Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto
September 30:
October 2:

Week 7:
October 5: Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto
October 7:
October 9:

Week 8:
October 12: Hannah Arendt, On Violence, pp.3-31
October 14:
October 18: Midsemester Break  

Week 9:
October 19: Hannah Arendt, On Violence, pp. 31-87
October 21:
October 23:

Week 10:
October 26: Fanon, “Concerning Violence” and “Violence in the International Context”
October 28:
October 30:

Week 11:
November 2: Malcolm X, "The Second Rally of the OAAU" (July 5, 1964; NYC); "At the Audubon" (Dec 13, 1964; NYC)
November 4:
November 6:

Week 12:
November 9: Walter Benjamin, "Critique of Violence."
November 11:
November 13:

Week 13:
November 16: Zizek, Violence.
November 18:
November 20:

November 23 -November 27: Thanksgiving Break

Week 14:
November 30: Review
December 2:
December 4:

Week 15:
December 7: Evaluations
December 9:
December 11:

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